A PLEDGE to improve mental healthcare which should stop vulnerable patients being locked up in police cells has been signed by Dorset’s main public agencies.

The Mental Health Crisis Care concordat, a national agreement between services and agencies involved in the care and support of people in crisis, has been officially backed by the county’s police, healthcare and other community organisations.

It comes after revelations that police stations were used as a ‘place of safety’ for patients on 115 occasions in 2013/14 and officers had used Tasers in cells to restrain people with psychiatric problems.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill, who also chairs the PCC mental health working group, said he was excited by the news and that it is now crucial agencies combine to help the mentally ill.

“The very fact that we needed a concordat displays the crux of the problem, nationally and here in Dorset,” he added. “They need to be looked after by a healthcare professional, not by a police officer in a police cell.”

Eugine Yafele, mental health lead for Dorset HealthCare, said: “We have launched a mental health street triage service with Dorset Police and hope to build on that good practice recognised nationally.”